Changes
by The People's Writer
Summary: I welcome you to the life of... Sakura Kinomoto. She is as normal as normal can possibly get. Until she finds out she is a mutant. Then, her life becomes havoc. (Please Note: This is not a CCS FanFic. I just like to use her name.)
1. Eruptions

To my wonderful-future-to-be Readers:  
I hope you enjoy this fan-fic as much as I have had fun writing it. I am still a beginning writer, so please spare my horrible mistakes, and learn to bear with me. Encourage me along the way by reading and leaving comments by simply clicking the "To Review" button down at the bottom of the page in the left-hand corner. Please do—It would mean a lot to a newbie like me. So, enjoy!  
  
Kudos to all of you—  
  
The People's Writer  
  


* * *

  
FYI:  
  
'Personal Thoughts'  
  
~"Inner Voices"~  
  
ESP   
  
%The Written Word%  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Normal Conversation (Duh)"  
  
* Com Link or Telephone *  
  
*Sound Effects (usually just Kurt's bamfing)  
  
{Background noise--music, crowds, etc.}  
  


* * *

  
-Tomoeda, Japan-  
  
The slender girl hurriedly brushed the sweaty strands of dark hair out of her face. She was going to make it! She rushed past the obstruction until she saw her destination. She dodged in and out, weaved under and over until she was exhausted. She had mere seconds left... She swept a quick glance over her shoulder. She saw the clock ticking down:  
  
5. She spun back around and saw the figure looming in her line of vision.  
  
4. The girl jumped over a sea of legs and ran closer to the dark figure.  
  
3. She could hear someone yelling out the time as she rushed the individual.  
  
2. She saw it. Now it was only her and the being.  
  
1. She kicked as hard as she possibly can, towards the dead center. She sucked her breath in...  
  
Everyone hushed in anticipation and then...  
  
"G~O~A~L! THE PANTHERS WIN THIS GAME! SAKURA KINIMOTO HAS SCORED THE WINNING GOAL!"  
  
The girl sighed in relief as she took a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "WE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP." The girl's teammates yelled in ecstasy.  
  
"Sakura, thanks to you, we WON!" Sakura grinned happily from ear to ear. She glanced over to her mother who was waving from the stands. She made a motion with her hands, as if to say, 'I'm proud of you!' Sakura made the motion back and smiled excitedly as she flopped back into the innumerable arms of her team and let them carry her over to the bench.  
  


* * *

  
Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples tiredly as she made her way down the narrow little alley. Her eyes felt raw, as if she hadn't had a wink of sleep all night. And the clothes she was wearing didn't do anything to help her to fight off her sleepiness.  
  
Of course, her friends had insisted that she stay until the after-party had gone into full swing. Sakura, knowing that she would regret this in the morning had agreed to her party-alcoholic friends and had stayed.  
  
And now here she was, walking down a creepy and dark alley at three thirty in the morning, with who-know-what's stalking her and her lack of sleep slowly creeping over her. She was right, including the part where a 'who- know-what' was stalking her. Literally.  
  
The dark figure peered around a corner and decided that now would be a smart time to strike. The hooded man rushed himself at the sleepy-eyed teenager and grabbed her arm.  
  
He swung her around and growled in her ear, "You pretty little thing... Y'know, I can show you some real fun if you come along with me..." He was careful enough to keep her arms pinned against her back.  
  
Sakura snapped her head up at the sound of his voice and smelt the beer on his breath. 'Ohmigawd...' Panicky at the thought the man was portraying, she got scared and immediately started to sweat. She couldn't see the man nor did she want to. She squirmed in his vice grip and tried not to think of anything other than getting away. 'Ohmigawd... Not again!' She shook her head and thought of her options. She couldn't scream; his hand was on her mouth. She couldn't move; her arms were pinned against her back.  
  
Suddenly, his grip had stopped as abruptly as it had come. 'What's going on?' Sakura thought. She spun herself around to face...  
  
A tree.  
  
In the middle of an alley.  
  
In which a mighty oak tree stood at least two stories tall.  
  
Sakura looked around confusedly.  
  
Where had the man gone to?  
  
'Ohmigawd'. She said as the thought sunk in.  
  
The man had become the tree.  
  
What else could she do?  
  
She fainted.  
  


* * *

  
-Westchester, New York-  
  
A serene man sat in a wheelchair as he studied the screen intently. Storm, Jean, I would like a word with you. Please come to my office as of immediately.   
  
He sat silently as he waited for the two women to arrive. A brazen knock filled the air as someone tapped the heavy door. Come in.   
  
A willowy African-American woman came in first, her thick white hair in slight disarray as she entered first. She was gripping a gardening spade and had dirt all over her jeans. The mature man studied her appearance and his eyes crinkled in amusement.  
  
She noticed that he was staring at her less-than-formal appearance and tried to fix herself, trying to be unnoticeable as possible.  
  
As the white-haired woman sidestepped next to the door, a voluptuous redhead entered, breathing lightly, as if she were trying to calm down from running.  
  
"I apologize for calling you two in so abruptly, but we have a serious matter to discuss."  
  
Both women's heads shot up and searched his face, beckoning to continue.  
  
"What is the matter Professor?" the redhead asked with a hitched breath.  
  
"Cerebro has detected a new mutant signature. I would like you to take either Kitty or Kurt along to recruit this girl."  
  
"Do you know the location Charles?" The African-American woman said thoughtfully.  
  
"Tomoeda, Japan."  
  


* * *

  
-Tomoeda Central Hospital-  
  
Sakura peered through her heavy amber eyelashes. She glanced at the room around her with drowsy eyes. 'Where am I?' A monotonous beeping was heard as she tried to get her mind to grip where she was. 'What is that ridiculous racket?' The simultaneous beeping of the assortment of machines  
  
was beginning to irritate her, in more ways than less. She grasped the side of the hospital bed and tried to lean over towards the counter for a glass of water. Her mother was on the very left side of her, sitting slouched in a chair, dozing lightly.  
  
"What happened to me?"  
  
Sakura's russet colored hair which had been hanging in her face previously was brushed back and had been clipped with a large claw. Her mother woke up from the sound of her voice. "Sakura! You are all right. I was so worried." The girl peered at her mother with a blurry vision.  
  
"What happened to me?"  
  
"You were in an alley, and then, with some miraculous favor on God, you happened to stumble on a common road. A woman saw you collapse and brought you here immediately."  
  
Mrs. Kinomoto was so overwhelmed with emotion she had to choke back a sob to continue.  
  
"Your injuries are minor. You had a mild concussion as you fell, but it is amazingly healed." Mrs. Kinomoto smiled warmly towards her child. "I'm just glad that you are safe. And I won't even ask what you were doing coming home at three in the morning."  
  
Sakura ducked her head in embarrassment just as the head nurse entered the room briskly. "You have visitors." She smiled grimly and turned toward a small gathering in front of her room's doorway. "You have ten minutes." The nurse said coolly. Then she walked out in the same manner as she had come in.  
  
Sakura sat up in her bed and glanced at her mother. Her mother looked as bewildered as she felt. 'Who are these people?'  
  
As her vision cleared, Sakura saw that there were four people standing at the edge of her bed, two of them introducing themselves as a "Jean" and as a "Ororo". 'Jean and Ororo; Check.'  
  
A cautious (and what seemed like to her a 16-year-old) girl pulled out her hand from a large sweater and said, "Hi! I'm Kitty. And like, you must be Sakura?" Kitty said her name in what she thought was the right pronunciation.  
  
"Sakura Kinomoto", she mended. "Oh. Like sorry." She blushed apologetically. The russet headed girl smiled kindly and shook her long auburn locks sincerely.  
  
"It's ok. I do it all the time. Butcher up other people's names I mean." She said.  
  
The two strangers took a step back as both of them wore equal faces of surprise.  
  
"What? Oh... Are you surprised that I can speak English?"  
  
"Well... Like, yea." The chestnut haired girl said, the effect of the Japanese-English speaking girl still intact.  
  
"Well, let's just say that I have a certain knack for languages. And English isn't my only one." She grinned and winked as if to say, 'You'll find out for yourselves.'  
  
Sakura cleared her throat and re-began. "Well, in any case, hi Kitty. Pleased to meet you. And you are...?" She left the question hanging in air as the boy looked up startled and yelped out a, "Oh!" Kitty jabbed the boy's stomach, lightly as if to say, 'C'mon. Get on with it already!'  
  
The blonde haired boy grinned cheekily and said, "I'm Bobby Drake. I'm filling in for the boy who was supposed to be here in my place." He ran a hand through his tousled hair.  
  
"But I'm glad I went instead of him."  
  
"Oh? And why is that Drake?" Kitty said poking him in the shoulder. "Because, then I wouldn't have been able to have this gorgeous beauty to myself." He commented slyly looking at Sakura.  
  
She responded by glaring at the impertinent child.  
  
"This is nice, Ms. Munroe for you to come visit my daughter but I do not understand why you are here." Ororo stepped up and quickly replied, "I apologize. I have been getting side-tracked lately. I am here because your daughter has... special abilities that others do not."  
  
"Abilities? Oh, but I do know!"  
  
"You do?" Incredulously the four men and women asked simultaneously.  
  
"Then why'd we come out to who-knows-where if she knows what she is already?" Bobby mumbled under his breath.  
  
Bobby... Jean said warningly. Ok, ok. Get your point Red. He said back at her, twice as huffily as he was before.  
  
"My daughter is in the 5th highest rank in all of Japan! Her test scores are immaculate and she is most excellent at sports. She is in the top of her class!" Sakura's mother proudly said as Sakura began to blush furiously.  
  
"Oh no Mrs. Kinomoto." Ororo chuckled. "Nothing of the sort. Her abilities... in other sorts."  
  
"Other sorts? You are college scouts... Are you not?" Mrs. Kinomoto asked confusedly  
  
"No, Mrs. Kinomoto. Your daughter is a mutant."  
  
"A what?!" The Japanese women yelled simultaneously.  
  
Sakura shook her head and her auburn colored locks began to fall out of its holder. 'This can't be! I... I know I was different, but... Not like this. This is... impossible! I can't be... a...' Sakura struggled against the thought of her being someone other than what she already was.  
  
"This is outrageous! This is impossible. No one in my line nor Sakura's father's line has the gene..."  
  
Sakura bit on her lip to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't stand her father, much less speak about him. "If... What you say is true..." She started slowly. Her mother faced towards her determined daughter and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"If what you say is true... I am..." She choked back a small breath and started over. "Does this mean you are mutants too?" She blurted out finally.  
  
"Never thought you'd ask." Bobby said smoothly. He pulled out a hand and said, "How 'bout this for size?"  
  
He moved palms so that they were facing each other, the left hovering over the right. He cupped his hands moved both his palms in a fast counter-clockwise position. Between them, large crystals of ice was seen, swirling, madly trying to overcome the other. When he finally pulled away, a slender, but beautiful rose hovered in his hands. "For the madam." Suavely, he then placed the ice rose between Jin's open hands.  
  
"Oh my..." she breathed as she saw the stunning creation between her hands. Mrs. Kinomoto studied the elegant flower with curious eyes. "What amazing power you have!" She said finally.  
  
Jean and Kitty let out breaths of relief when she finally answered.  
  
I like, guess she doesn't have a thing like, against mutants then, huh Jean?   
  
Jean smiled graciously. I'm glad she doesn't. Remind me that we'll have to thank Bobby later.   
  
Bobby if sensing as if he knew he was to be congratulated said, Someone forgetting to say something?   
  
Rolling her eyes, Kitty frowned as she slugged him lightly across the shoulder. "Don't push it Iceboy."  
  
He growled and said, "It's IceMAN, not IceBOY."  
"Like, whatever, Frosty." giggled the valley girl.  
  
Sakura watched interestedly as she watched some sort of communication between the younger students.  
"So... If ice manipulation is your power... Then, may I be able to see demonstrations of yours?" Sakura intervened politely.  
  
She catches on quick! Bobby mentally projected.  
  
Of course she does, her mother did say that she was 5th in all of Japan. Kitty, understanding let a small "duh" underneath her breath.  
  
She straightened up and looked at Sakura. "Like, sure!" Kitty eagerly said. "Watch this." She took her hand and pulled out Sakura's. She instructed the bewildered girl, "Don't blink." She phased her hand through Sakura's and pulled it back out again.  
  
"Goodness!" Mrs. Kinomoto said surprised.  
  
Ororo chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, Mrs. Kinomoto. We use our powers only for good." "Well, I sure hope so!" Jin said back, still startled from Kitty's presentation.  
  
"May I see yours, Jean?"  
  
Here it is. Jean mentally projected to everyone in the room.  
  
Shocked, Sakura's mother did an anime styled fall and said, "Well, goodness me!" Sakura let out a small giggle as her mother picked herself up from the floor.  
  
"And, Mrs. Monroe, yours is...?"  
  
"Not 'indoor-friendly' you could say." "I do, however can tell you yours."  
  
Sakura's mother composed herself and said, "Please tell. I am eager to know whether it is as stunning as the other's."  
  
"Sakura," Ororo began as she struggled to find a way to tell her what her powers were. "Have you ever felt different from any of the other children? As if you were connected to something when they were not?"  
  
Sakura thought back, flipping through her memories like a scrapbook. Then she remembered.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
Sakura's father had brought his wife, Jin and his lovely daughter to the playground. Sakura had been sick, and she had healed rather rapidly, and he wanted to celebrate her strong health. He sent his seven year old daughter to the sandbox as he and his young wife sat down together to watch their daughter, resting on the bench. The young girl had wandered from site to site, looking around as if someone was calling her.  
  
Oh please, oh please someone help me! A weak voice warbled to the girl's ears.  
  
The russet-colored hairs were in disarray as Sakura searched for the invisible voice. Suddenly, she saw it. It was coming from a lifeless flower.  
  
I need... I need water. It rasped out.  
  
'Poor flower.' She thought. 'I wish it would get all better. Then I would be happy!' Sakura tapped the flower and wished it would be better.  
  
Suddenly, the withered tulip had straightened and the color rushed back to its soft petals. The seven year old squealed in excitement and ran quickly towards her parents.  
  
"Look mommy! C'mere daddy!" She said, tugging on the pant leg of her father. "Ok, ok Sakura. Calm down. Now what is it that you wanted to show me?"  
  
The girl straightened her back proudly as she showed her mother the flower and beamed towards her father. "I made the flower feel all better!"  
  
Jin smiled as her husband crouched down next to his happy little 'angel'. "That's good sweety. But, how did you know that it was "hurt"?" He stood up after moving a hand over the soil. Jin knew what he was doing. He was an 'earth mage', and the blood of magic ran deep into his family's bloodline. "Jin, this soil... It is completely dry of its minerals." "Do you think that... Sakura could possibly..." "It's too early to tell."  
  
Mr. Kinomoto faced his daughter and said, "C'mon honey. We'll get a plastic baggy and take this pretty flower home."  
  
Sakura grasped his large burly hands and skipped happily, towards a kiosk stand, hopefully waiting for a bag.  
  
[Flashback End]  
  
"The flower!" Jin and her daughter said in chorus.  
  
"Excuse me?" Ororo asked confusedly as Jean stared at the mother and daughter.  
  
"There... There was this... flower. W-when I was seven." Sakura started hesitantly. She closed her eyes as if it would help her remember. "I was at this park... And this voice." She sighed. "Oh what a pretty voice. It spoke to me. Telling me to help it." "It came from the flower. It was... crying. It was sad."  
  
"I had to help it." Here she sounded confused as her emerald eyes fluttered open. "Then I wished for the flower to be... 'all better' and it... errm..." Sakura stopped nervously.  
  
"Regenerated?" Her mother helpfully supplied.  
  
She let out a nervous laugh as her mother filled in the blank areas.  
  
"Sakura... Do you think you could have your father's bloodline?" Jin asked carefully.  
  
The sixteen year old bristled immediately. "Do you think I even want to have his blood?" She growled out.  
  
"Like, what does having her father's like, blood have to do with, like anything?" Kitty ventured.  
  
"Sakura's father was an earth mage."  
  
"Meaning..." Bobby trailed off.  
  
Jean glared at him and started back up for Ororo. "Meaning Sakura has the power to control the earth."  
  


* * *

  
TO: My Marvelous Readers:  
  
Continue to read away my friends! Do so, by simply clicking the Review button down at the bottom. I noticed it suddenly gives me energy to start writing again. Isn't that just amazing? *Cough* Sarcasm *Cough*  
  
From, The People's Writer 


	2. Surprises

To my Readers:  
I had lots of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well.  
  
Much Love,  
The People's Writer  
  


* * *

  
FYI:  
  
'Personal Thoughts'  
  
~"Inner Voices"~  
  
ESP   
  
%The Written Word%  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Normal Conversation (Duh)"  
  
* Com Link or Telephone *  
  
*Sound Effects (usually just Kurt's bamfing)  
  
{Background noise--music, crowds, etc.}  
  


* * *

  
-Tomoeda, Japan-  
  
A long auburn lock fell into a girl's eyes. 'Dammit. I hate this long hair. Maybe I'll hack it off one day, its bothering me so much.' Her waist length-hair was pulled into a bun and it was now falling apart. An older version of the girl walked into her bedroom and as if she knew what she was thinking said, "Don't you dare." She tugged on the same tress that had been in Sakura's face earlier.  
  
Sakura grinned as her mother came into her room. "Can you believe I am leaving for the States tomorrow?" Jin sighed. "No, what I can't believe is what a slob my daughter is." She glanced around the room with obvious disgust.  
  
"Mo-ther!" Sakura said exasperatedly.  
  
"Just kidding!" Mrs. Kinomoto took a deep breath.  
  
"What I can't believe is that I'm going to be losing my daughter so quickly. And here I was, thinking that you wouldn't be leaving until you turned at least eighteen!" Jin pulled out a large handkerchief and blew her nose dramatically.  
  
"I'm sorry mother. But at least you will have your okaa-san. Right?" Sakura smiled prettily at her mother who tweaked her cheek.  
  
"At least you could have some time to yourself now!" Sakura put in, trying to bribe her mother into becoming happy.  
  
"Are you trying to bribe me?"  
  
The teenager pulled a stray lock loose from her bun and twirled it around her finger.  
  
"We-ell..." She grinned. "Yea. I am."  
  
"You little..." Jin began to tickle Sakura mercilessly.  
  
Sakura and Jin's relationship was an unusual one for a parent and her daughter. They were extraordinarily close and it was made known. It had bonded even closer when her father had left the both of them for another woman when the child was but only ten. Mrs. Kinomoto had been devastated, but Sakura was secretly glad.  
  
She knew her father was a drunk, and he would beat her whenever he felt right. Her mother had not known of these beatings, because Sakura begged her father to take the punishment out on her. Her mother adored Mr. Kinomoto and Sakura didn't want to break her heart.  
  
Sakura sighed out loud as she thought about leaving her mother and her grandmother all alone.  
  
"What are you thinking about, dear?"  
  
Sakura unhappily frowned and said, "Leaving you and grand-mama all alone in Japan."  
  
"It's ok. I know this is for the best. I knew your powers would 'kick' in sometime, sooner or later."  
Sakura did a double take. "You knew?!"  
  
"Of course! If you didn't get them from your father's bloodline, you would at least have inherited mine!"  
  
"YOURS?" She exclaimed.  
  
"Of course! Remember those stories I'd use to tell right before you went to bed?"  
"Those stories of those magical kings and queens and their abilities?"  
  
"Those are the ones. And what's more, they are the truth. They were of either Kietaro's stories or mine."  
  
Sakura grimaced when her mother used her ex-father's name.  
  
"Well, then... What is your power?"  
  
"Watch this."  
  
She concentrated on the cup of tea that had been placed on Sakura's nightstand previously. She tapped into her "power-line" and used that energy to channel it towards the liquid. The brown tea rose, little droplets at a time and finally formed a small globe of the flavored water. She finally lost her concentration and guided the tea back into its original captive place.  
  
Jin wiped her brow tiredly. "I haven't done that in years."  
  
Sakura looked at her mother with awe. 'Water manipulation' she whispered in the corner of her mind.  
  
"Whoa! Where did you learn to do that?"  
  
"With a man named Xavier. He is the head-master of the school you are going to be heading at." "It sure is a small world after all." She mumbled under her breath.  
  
Sakura's mind wandered as she remembered the stranger people from her afternoon.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
'The people from the States were sure different!' Sakura thought. She had been discharged from the care of the hospital and now was taking her soon-to-be classmates and teacher around Japan.  
  
Her mother had finally agreed with them to allow Sakura to go to a school; and that was of course after she had interrogated Mrs. Munroe with questions about it. Sakura wanted to go to the school; she definitely knew that she wouldn't been able to handle such power alone, and after that incident with that drunken man...  
  
She shuddered involuntarily, and just prayed that something like that would never happen again, to anything, and that included both people she loved and those she hated. All she hoped was that the head-master could help her with her situation.  
  
And, since she had always wanted to go to a school in the States, here was her chance, on a silver platter.  
  
She strained to remember the name of the school. What was it called again? Oh yes. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  
  
"And, this is Kohana Park." She pointed towards her left, still a little dazed from the whirlwind of events. "It means 'Little Flower' in Japanese."  
  
The area she had implied with her indicated was a beautiful luscious vicinity. This district had been had been marked off as a 'City Park'. The grounds were littered with beautiful cherry blossoms as the sakura trees swayed in the breeze.  
  
Ororo gasped as Jean and Kitty clapped appreciatively. Even Bobby, who didn't care much for nature, had to agree-this place was pleasing to the eye.  
  
As the time neared to an end, she took them to a sea-side restaurant, with her mother's blessing of course, and had began to ask her many questions.  
  
"What is it like, you know. In the States?"  
  
"Its quite pretty actually, and it isn't all that bad." Jean said.  
  
"Like, yea! Bayville's pretty cool, and like, the students at the Institute aren't that bad either. Bobby here," She jabbed him in the ribs "Is actually one of the little baddies."  
  
"Ororo!" He complained.  
  
"Don't look at me, boy. Fight your own battles." She grinned at the stunning Asian girl as she watched the two struggle.  
  
"Other students?" She shyly asked, "What are they like?"  
  
"Don't worry. They don't bite." Jean smiled as she held up a cup of an after-coffee dinner. "Well, Rhane does, but only to protect herself."  
  
"B-bite?" Sakura faced towards Bobby with an alarmed face.  
  
"Like, stop scaring her Bobby!" Kitty glared at the boy and said, "Don't worry. Her mutation is like, to become a wolf. So... I guess that would like, make her a were-wolf."  
  
Sakura smiled nervously and explained herself. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm not much up for dogs. I was hurt quite a while ago, around five or so, by a large dog. I didn't know that the dog was a wild stray and I tried to pet it, but it turned around and bit me in the ribs. I-I haven't recovered since..." She whispered the last part out.  
  
"No worries! Rahne wouldn't hurt you. She wouldn't touch a fly!" Jean tried to say, attempting to soothe the agitated girl.  
  
Sakura's auburn locks began to fall into her face as she began to think of the memory. She kept wringing her hands as she remembered the horrible day.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Like, Ororo! Look at that plant!"  
  
The freshly cut plant, placed in a vase for decoration began to bloom and spread buds as it fed off of the girl's feelings. The plant's roots crawled rapidly out of the vase and onto Kitty's hands. The roots turned a dark hunter green hue as it spun frantically around her wrists. It latched onto her arms and began to grow with an intensity faster than before.  
  
Kitty stifled a scream as the plant began to lock itself onto her wrist.  
  
Ororo took charge of the situation and said, "Calm down Sakura. What calms you down?" She asked quickly, knowing that there was inadequate amount of time until someone began to notice.  
  
Sakura grasped at what her teacher was saying and immediately began to sing. She hummed the tune to Braham's Lullaby as the plant began to weave back sleepily into its confined area.  
  
She sighed immediately after the plant had been placed back. She glanced over at Kitty and apologized.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" She said, ducking her head in embarrassment. Kitty patted her arm. She flinched. Kitty didn't take notice and continued. "It's ok. When I didn't have control over my power, I fell through my bed and into the basement." She shuddered. "And I like, think I landed on like, a spider."  
  
Sakura laughed as she saw Kitty's mask of horror.  
  
"Wait. Lemme get the straight. You fell through the ceiling, through your bed and landed in a dark basement, and what you worry about is a spider you squashed?" Bobby clarified.  
  
"Like, duh! It was like, my favorite pair of pajamas." Kitty wrinkled her nose in disgust of thinking of anything on her clothes.  
  
"Girls." He retorted.  
  


* * *

  
Sakura smiled and had remembered the night from a week ago as she began to prepare for bed. She stretched herself out on the bed and leisurely inch her body in. Her mother poked her head in and said, "Better sleep now. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."  
  
She closed her eyes as she began to dream of pleasant thoughts.  
  
Her mother sneaked in and opened up her pack. 'She'll need this, I know she will.' She placed a package, wrapped in Sakura's favorite color, a dark sea foam green. She skillfully positioned it underneath all her clothes, at the very bottom. "Sleep well my daughter."  
  
She walked over to her and placed a light kiss on her forehead.  
  


* * *

  
-Japan International Airport-  
  
Sakura nervously boarded the airplane. Her friends had left for America the night after Mrs. Kinomoto had agreed to Sakura's release. Now, she was worried.  
  
What if the students didn't like her?  
  
What if she was shunned?  
  
What if... The questions rang throughout her mind as she sat down. *Ding! The bell to signal take-off was sounded in the cabin. Sakura straightened her hunter green turtleneck and pulled her dark hip hugging gray jeans out until it covered all over her body with the exception of the points of her white sneakers.  
  
'Well, no point in worrying now. I guess I'll just have to deal with whatever comes my way.' Meanwhile, she had a great in-flight movie to watch.  
  


* * *

  
-Bayville Airport-  
  
"Vat does she look like? Tell me!" Kurt eagerly awaited the arrival for the new girl every day, even counting down the time.  
  
He wasn't all that interested, but ever since he and Rogue found out that they were foster-siblings, he had taken a particular liking to annoying her to no end. He wasn't even supposed to come to the airport, but knowing he wouldn't stop, Rogue had begged the Professor in allowing Kurt to accompany Rouge and Kitty to the airport. Of course, the night before, Kurt had finally reached his maximum and she banned him from coming along.  
  
'Now ah don't know why the Professor chose Kitty and me. He could've chosen Kurt for all ah care.' Rogue simmered over the thought and now she impatiently waited until the new recruit's plane had arrived.  
  
"Kitty. What does this new gal look lahke?" Rogue asked exasperatedly.  
  
"Like, ya know... " She trailed off.  
  
"She's really pretty. She has like, gorgeous emerald eyes. She's got this like, stunning russet colored hair like yours 'cept lighter, and it spirals down to her waist. And like, it even is curly, like, all natural! Kinda like Jean's, but like, prettier. And she's skinny... like you. Actually, she looks a lot like you, except, she's like, Japanese!"  
  
'God. Another preppy-wannabe.'  
  
"You know, I swear, like, if I didn't know who she was, I would've guessed that like, she was your like, long lost twin or something."  
  
"Except she's Japanese." Rogue put in.  
  
"Right. Like, except for that."  
  
'And she could 'prolly touch...' Rogue added mentally.  
  
Kitty suddenly jerked Rogue's arm down. "Watch my arm, Kit! I'm not indestructahble, aftah all." the southern girl drawled lazily.  
  
"Like, there she is!"  
  
Standing from a distance, a girl fully covered from head to toe, with no skin showing what-so-ever, nervously held a bag and was shifting from foot to foot.  
  
Kitty let go of Rogue's arm and ran up to the girl. Apparently this was the one, because her face lightened up and lost its tension. She grinned easily, showing off her straight white pearl-like teeth, which made Rogue seethe with envy.  
  
'Anotha reason ta hate her more.'  
  


* * *

  
-Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters/The Institute-  
  
//Rogues POV//  
  
As Rogue stepped out of the car, she was mildly surprised. The girl had proven her wrong. Actually, Sakura Kinomoto was indeed nearly like her.  
  
And that surprised her even more.  
  
She hated preps and jocks, ("Who didn't?" The Japanese girl had asked.) HATED any sort of pop or country music ("Britney Spears", and she shuddered. Rogue immediately agreed with her on that.), and most of all, for her own personal reasons, she hated touch.  
  
'Ah think we're going to get along just fahne.' For the first time in all of Bayville history, Rogue smiled.  
  
***************************************************** //Sakura's POV//  
  
As soon as I got out of the car, I tried my best to smother a gasp. "This... is a house?" I said.  
  
Suddenly a boy with hair so dark I could've sworn it looked blue bounded over to me. "Guten tag fräulein!*" [Good day, miss!] Without thinking, the first thing I said was, "Guter tag ebenso.*" [Good day as well.]  
  
The boy started as he stared at me.  
  
Rogue took a peek at me. "You speak German too?" She asked incredulously.  
  
I nodded and embarrassedly rubbed it over my other arm.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't usually speak other languages... and if I was showing off..." I stopped talking.  
  
Rogue brushed it off like it was nothing.  
  
"Nah, don't worry about it sugar. I was just surprised. Now Kurt won't only bug me when he is on a sugar over-drive. Now he can drive you up the wall."  
  
Appreciatively, she grinned as an after-thought.  
  
"But now, is not a tahme ta talk. I'll take you to the professor. Kurt here can take care of your things." She pointed the teenager over to the trunk and pushed me in the house.  
  


* * *

  
-Professor's Office-  
  
Come in. Sakura pushed on the large brass handle as the door swung open. Sakura entered in hesitantly as Rogue nudged her in. She poked her head in and a white strand of hair landed in her face. "I'll get her set, Professor. She can bunk with me."  
  
She then turned to Sakura and said, "Don't worry. He's nice. And, I'll wait for you after you're done talking with the Prof." She looked towards the elderly man and said, "Ya know what ta do after she's done!"  
  
Rogue left as quickly as she had come in.  
  
The Professor smiled as he told the nervous girl to sit down. "You must have done something she has liked, because I have never seen her take to a person so quickly!"  
  
Charles smiled a comforting smile, as if he was trying to pacify some "inner beast" of hers.  
  
"Don't worry Ms. Kinomoto. Or may I call you Sakura?"  
  
Sakura ventured carefully. "You may do so, sir." Suddenly, the curiosity took over her.  
  
"What was it like, working with my mother?"  
  
He chuckled and said, "You do cut to the chase, don't you, Sakura?"  
  
She smiled, unsure of what to respond back to the what seemed to her a grave man.  
  
He smiled, with his fingers interlaced, propping his chin on top of them.  
  
"No need to worry Sakura. This is a haven for mutants. And I will assure you, nothing will cause you harm while you are here."  
  
Sakura double-took a look at the man before her. "How did you know what I was thinking?" She gasped.  
  
"I am a telepathic. And the rest of the students here, are ones as well. I welcome you to the school for mutants." His eyes twinkled as he looked at the astonished girl.  
  
"You may run along, I'm sure Rogue is beginning to get impatient waiting for you."  
  
Sakura scrambled to get out of the chair and the serene room. She didn't mind the Professor, just that, she felt so out-of-place in a grand space like this, that it was beginning to intimidate her, even if it was just a little.  
  
"And you may want to check the bottom of your bag." He called out.  
  
Sakura bowed respectively and left the vast library-like room.  
  


* * *

  
Rogue was clearing her side of the dormitory as the Professor called out to her. Rogue. Sakura has finished speaking with me. You may come and get her now.   
Rogue hurried, by jumping over her bed and ran out the door. Thanks, Professor!   
  


* * *

  
As Sakura wandered out of the room, she stopped outside of the door way and then slipped down a staircase. As she sat up, she saw a patch of ice from the headmaster's doorway all the way down to where she had ended up.  
  
'Bobby.' She thought murderously.  
  
She rubbed her sore bottom and continued her pointless meandering around the vast corridors and rooms.  
  
She was about to turn left, when she heard a loud clanging, couple doors down. She followed the sound and ended up in what she guessed was the kitchen. Only it didn't look like one.  
  
It was swept all over...  
  
With ice.  
  
'Of course.' She thought.  
The banging she had heard was coming from a corner. In the secluded are where there was a swinging door, a younger girl with honey-brown hair back in small pigtails sat in a mess of pots and pans.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Immediately, Sakura ran over to the girl who was looking at her with her head cocked to the side.  
And just as fast, Sakura wiped out.  
  
"Not again!" She yelled out exasperatedly.  
  
"Bobby got you too, huh?" She asked, in a dull voice.  
  
"Yep." Sakura replied just as annoyed.  
  
"Well, at least we can have some fun!" The girl meta-morphed into a great shaggy looking wolf and began to slide across the ice.  
  
Right towards Sakura.  
  
Of course the girl didn't know she was the new recruit.  
  
Of course she didn't know she had an immense fear of dogs.  
  
Of course, what else could Sakura do, but to throw up her arms in defense?  
  
Or so she thought...  
  
The room had been fully iced, through and through but the hanging plants in Sakura's corner broke free of its cage as Sakura's feelings rolled throughout the large hallway-like room. The vines began to grow and latched onto Sakura like the flower at the restaurant. Sakura wasn't frightened about this, because she was too focused on the sliding she-wolf that was coming closer and closer to her. In a split second, the plants wrapped Sakura in a enormous cocoon of green vines, intertwining and linking with each other as it formed a human bud-like figure around her. The cocoon was the length of the room and the top and bottom had a twisted-like appearance. The foliage around it had stretched out and supported the odd pen from all angles, the appearance of a spider's web and its meal in a silk cocoon coming to mind.  
  
Rahne began to panic. 'Ohmigawd. This is the new recruit. The one that is afraid of dogs... Oh Lord, what have I done?' She started to gulp for air. 'Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd!' Suddenly a loud *bamf* caused Rahne to jump out of her reverie.  
  
"Kurt!"  
  
"Mien Gott*." [My God] Was all that came out of his mouth. "What happened?!" he immediately demanded.  
  
"I don't know! Just get the Professor, and quick!"  
  
Kurt *bamfed* out of the kitchen and into the Professor's study.  
  
"Professor!"  
  
I know Kurt. Teleport me to the kitchen and get Kitty. We will be needing her if Sakura cannot get out on her own.   
"Right."  
  


* * *

  
-Kitchen-  
  
Charles Xavier was stumped. He had telepathically attempted to reach Sakura in her shell, but it was impossible. Kitty's phasing powers could not reach inside either. Rogue's deadly touch had no effect on the plants what-so-ever. This was the most confusing case he had gotten yet.  
  
His newest convert, trapped in a live confinement, for a whole hour.  
  
The students of the school had appeared in the kitchen minutes after Rahne had panicked. Rogue was the first one there, worried for her new friend.  
  
"Professor?"  
  
Sakura called out to the headmaster in worry.  
  
They had found out voices could be heard from either side and the vines Sakura was wrapped in was breathable. But the confusing part was that it did not allow any sort of mutation to pass through, or to harm it. It was all natural.  
  
Suddenly, a thought passed through Kitty's head. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it earlier?  
  
"Sakura! SING."  
  
Several students turned to give Kitty an odd look, but the russet haired girl immediately understood.  
  
The first song that popped into her head was the lullaby from the restaurant incident.  
  
Sakura opened her mouth and began to sing in a melodic, almost of like an angelic quality. "Lullaby, and goodnight, go to sleep little baby." The song soothed both her and the live imprisonment.  
  
The plant did not need and more prodding, it began to open. Instead of it disappearing, the vines had morphed into a large blood-red rose. Its soft petals began to unfurl, one by one, the blossom undergoing a full bloom. The center petals, pink tinged with yellow expanded until it exposed Sakura, sitting on a "flower-chair". The vines pushed her upward, guiding her unsteady feet and other vines gently wrapped around her waist, pulling her to her feet.  
  
"Always make this sort of entrance?" Rogue drawled.  
  
Sakura just laughed.  
  


* * *

  
To my lovely readers:  
  
Did you enjoy this chapter? I hope you did, because I had loads of fun imagining this up! I hope you liked this chapter, because there are more to come!  
  
From, The People's Writer :] 


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